Operation Magic Carpet (World War II)

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Return of GIs on the USS Enterprise during Operation Magic Carpet

The operation Magic Carpet (German as Operation Magic Carpet ) was the repatriation of US troops from Europe and the Pacific region after the end of World War II . It was the largest military troop retrieval operation in history to date .

Europe

Since the US Navy was still bound in the Pacific War at the end of the war in Europe , the retrieval operation was initially organized by the US Army and the United States Merchant Marine . The responsible War Shipping Administration ordered the conversion of 300 Liberty and Victory merchant ships into troop transports. The first ships left Europe in June 1945. On average, 435,000 soldiers were shipped each month over the next 14 months. After the end of the war in the Pacific, warships were also used for transport from mid-October. Hospital ships brought more than half a million wounded back home. At the same time, the transporters were used for the repatriation of German and Italian prisoners of war . By the end of February 1946, the operation in Europe was essentially complete.

Pacific

In the Pacific, the operation began after the Pacific War ended at the end of World War II on September 6, 1945 and was not finished until September 1946. The operation was carried out by the US War Shipping Administration (WSA) to bring all land-based military units no longer needed in the Pacific back to their American homeland. On September 9, 1945, the so-called Task Force (TF) 16.12 (Rear Admiral Henry S. Kendall) was set up with initially eight escort carriers . By December this association increased to a total of 369 warships, including 6 battleships , 18 cruisers, 11 fleet carriers, 46 escort carriers and 12 hospital ships . In some cases these ships made multiple voyages.

Since a large number of American ships were on call in the western Pacific for the planned invasion of the main Japanese islands, Operation Downfall , these could be used to transport the troops after the Japanese surrender . The aim of the operation was to get as many soldiers as possible from the Pacific region home by Christmas. The first transport started on September 6th from Tokyo Bay and took passengers on Okinawa . In September, the US Navy brought 8,241 soldiers home.

The transport often took place on converted warships. Aircraft carriers landed their planes on land bases and beds and sanitary facilities were installed in the hangar deck . Hospital ships and the transporters lying in the Pacific were also used.

By March 1946, around 1.31 million people had been transported back to the USA by warships. The aircraft carrier USS Saratoga carried the highest number of passengers with 29,204 soldiers. During the same period, transport ships carried another 1.82 million people. Rail traffic within the USA partially collapsed because it was not prepared for the rush of so many people.

See also

Web links

Commons : Operation Magic Carpet (World War II)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Owen Gault: Operation Magic Carpet . In: Sea Classics . tape 38 , no. September 9 , 2009 (English).
  2. ↑ Stewart B. Milstein: Data Sheets # 31 - Operation Magic Carpet. Universal Ship Cancellation Society, April 2008, accessed April 10, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Elly Farelly: Bringing Home The 8 Million Boys After WWII; Operation Magic Carpet. In: War History Online. June 29, 2016, accessed April 10, 2017 .